Chemical fire-extinguishing device



Patented Mar. 13, 1928.

UNITED- STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES EDWARD ALLENAND HEN Y GEORGE scnwonrrn, or Loeens'ronr rnnrenn, ASSIGNOLRS TO; BOYER FIRE APPARATUS COMPANY, or roeansron'r, INDIANA; A

CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

cnnMrcAn rrnn-nxrrneursnme DEVICE.

Application filed March 14, 1927. serial rim-175,915.

This inventionrelates to a chemical fireextinguishing device and particularly to an acid receptacle holder adapted to be supported within an enclosed tank.

Several objects of this invention are the providing of an acid receptacle holder that may be readily removed from its support when desired but that will remain securely positioned at all other times; the providing of such a holder that will permit the carrying of a glass receptacle in a yielding relation to the holder as a means of preventing the receptacle from becoming accidentally broken by jars or vibration from without; and the providing of means that will permit breaking the glass receptacle to allow discharge of the acid but will retain the broken parts of the receptacle. v

The invention is described in reference to 0 the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. 1, is a longitudinal vertical section through one end or a chemical fire-extinguishing tank embodying our invention;

Fig. 2, a transverse vertical section through the tank on the line 22 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3, a fragmentary side elevation of the acid receptacle holder unit on an enlarged scale from that of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 1, a transverse section through the holder on the line 4 -4 in Fig. 3 and t Fig. 5, a fragmentary side elevation of the holder unit 90 degrees from the position in Fig. 3.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the several views.

An acid receptacle or bottle 10 is carried within the holder 11 by resting on the bottom 12. The holder 11 is in effect a hollow frustrum of a cone with the smaller end turned downwardly and engaged perinanently to the base. or bottom 12 which is provided with a plurality of openings 13 therethrough. Openings 4 1 are also .provided through the holder above the base.

Secured to the wall, of the holder by their upper ends are a number of tongues 14 which normally tend to have their lower ends project inwardly substantially away from the holder wall as indicated by the dash lines in Fig. 4. However as the bot tle 10 is pulled down within theholder 11 these tongues 1 1 contact the bottle 10 and are presscd'back toward the holder as intral depending boss 15 which slidin'gly carries a: vertically travelling plunger-16. This plunger 16 has a head 47- preferably pointed to strike the underside of the bottle. 10 when driven upwardly, 'and normally to rest within a recess formed in boss 15 to prevent the plunger 16 dropping out. A cotter pin17 is passed through the lower end ofthe plunger 16 to limit its upward travel.

The holder 11 is det'achably suspended from a cap 18 by means of a. bayonet joint formed by slipping-the holder 11 up overa petticoat- 19 depended from the cap 18, whereby a plurality of pinsEZO (here shown as threein, number) projecting horizontalmit the top of tliebottle 10 to project upwardly thereiny as indicatedin Figs; 1 and 3, such that the petticoat 19 ektends downwardly about the bottle 10 within the upper end of thehol'der 11. The tongues 14 prevent the bottle 10 from striking the petticoat 19. I j e 1 To prevent the holder 11 frombecoming disengaged fromithe cap 18 from any cause such as vibration or blows from without, a locking means is provided which comprises a latch-bar 23 pivotally carried by the bracket 24 having a concave face entering within the vertical slot 21 and extending up across the communicating horizontal slot 22 so as to prevent the holder-11 from traveling over the pin 20 to present the vertical slot 21 thereabove. Should the holder 11 tend to rotate, the latch-bar 23 will contact the pin 20 and thereby stop further rotation. A spring 25 is engaged by its upper end under a lip 26 on the lower end of the bar 23, and by its lower end under a lip 27 on the lower end of the bracket 24, the spring being held from side displacement by the bracket side walls 28, and by means of this spring 25, the bar 23 is normally positioned to lie within tlie slot 21.

The inner face of the latch-bar 23 is concavely curved so that when the cap 18 is being positioned on the'holder 11, the pins 20, all of which pins are bevelled from their top sides inwardly, may slidedown over the bar 23 to press it outwardly to overcome the spring 25 to permit the pin 20 to reach the horizontal slot 22 whereupon the cap 18 may be turned to carry the pin 20 into the slot 22 and the bar 23 to spring back into its normal position to block the return of the pin 20.

The entire acid receptacle holder unit now assembled as abovedescribed is carried in one end of a chemical fire-extinguishing tank 29 by inserting the holder 11 through a cylindrical casting 30 to let the cap 18 bear on top of the casting 30 with the gasket 31 therebetween, A yoke 32 carried by the casting 30 is swung over the cap 18 and a set screw 52 screw-threadedly passed through the yoke is turned down to contact the cap 18 and press it tightly down onto the casting 30 to form a gas-tight joint.

In a chemical fire-extinguisher, it is neces sary to release the acid from the receptacle only and at the time when the extinguisher is to be used, and as the extinguisher must be gas-tight when the chemical action takes place upon the liberation of the acid, the acid receptacle or bottle 10 here shown must be broken from within the tank 29, and as a means of so doing, a tube 33 is screwthrcadedly engagedin the wall of the tank 29 near the casting 30, and a shaft 34 is rotatably carried within the tube to extend up through a stufiing box 35 to without the tank and tube. To the lower end of the shaft 34 is fixed a bevel gear 36. with which is meshed a gear segment 37 pivotally mounted on the side of the tube 33. An arm 38 extends from the segment 37 and carries a hammer head 39. A handle 40 attached to ,the' upper end of the shaft 34 is used to ro- 37 may be revolved to throw the head 39 tate the shaft 34 whereby the gear segment upwardly, the arm 88 being so proportioned, that ,the head may strike the plunger 16 and drive it upwardly with sufiicient force to break the bottle 10 and thereby release the acid to within the tank 29 where the chemical action may take place with other ingredients with which the tank had prcviously been charged.

To secure the best and most immediate results, an agitator 41 is passed around the tank 29 by means of the external handle 42. With the holder construction as herein described, glass particles resulting from the breaking of the acid bottle 10 are held within the holder and hence can not drop down and interfere with the agitator or damage it or the tank as the agitator is moved. Furthermore, the broken glass may be removed when the holder is withdrawn from the tank, and no glass is left in the tank proper that would tend to clog up, blow-elf or drain valves.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, particularly to the casting 30, it will be noted that a petticoat depends from the casting 30 to a substantial distance within the tank 29, surrounding the holder 11. In positioning the holder 11 with its contained bottle 10 and the attached cap 18, the Petticoat 60 serves as a. guide to keep the holder upright until the cap 18 rests on the top of the casting 30. Furthermore, by pro ecting below the top of the tank 29, the petticoat 60 serves as an eilicient means of trapping air in the upper portion of the tank 29 above the hottom edge of the petticoat 60, when the tank 1 29 is filled with the usual chemical solution, such that when theacid is dropped into the solution, the air pocket provides a suitable safety expansion chamber for the products of the chemical reaction. Again, this construction, insures an air pocket about the top of the acid bottle 10 and keeps the solution out of contact there.

Having described our invention in the form now best known to us, we claim 1. In a chemical fire-extinguisher. an acid receptacle, a holder to receive the receptacle, a holder cap, pins projecting from the cap, said holder having vertical slots entering from its upper edge to'coininunicate with horizontal slots whereby said pins may be entered into said horizontal slots, a latch bar pivotally carried on the holder to swing in a vertical plane, and a spring normally positioning said bar to lie across the open end of said horizontal slot and 'to enter said vertical slot, a, base in said holder, yielding members carried by the holder to retain said receptacle, and a plunger carried by said base adapted to be driven against the retacle, a tank having an opening over which a said holder cap is detachably positioned, a 10 hammer mounted Within the tank, and means for swinging the hammer against said plunger. o

In testimony whereof We aflix our signatures.

JAMES EDWARD ALLEN. HENRY GEORGE SCHWOEPPE. 

